Speaker Bios

Senator Art Eggleton

Senate of Canada, Chair, WCCD Global City Leaders Advisory Board

Senator Art Eggleton is the Chair of the Global City Leaders Advisory Board at the World Council on City Data.

Senator Eggleton has served the people of Canada and the City of Toronto in elected office for over 40 years. He served as Mayor of the City of Toronto for 11 years (1980 – 1991) and is the longest serving Mayor in the City’s history. In 2015 he was appointed by the Mayor of Toronto to be Chair of the Mayor's Task Force on Toronto Community Housing.

He served 22 years as a member of Toronto City Council and the Metropolitan Toronto Council, most of those years on the Executive Committees of both Councils. Between 1973 and 1980, he served as City Budget Chief, the member of Council responsible for financial matters. In addition, he served on the Metropolitan Toronto Police Commission, the Board of the Canadian National Exhibition, and numerous committees and task forces dealing with community issues.

In recognition of his service to the city, Mr. Eggleton received Toronto’s highest honour, the Civic Award of Merit, in 1992. Art Eggleton served 11 years in the Parliament of Canada as the member for York Centre in the City of Toronto. First elected in 1993, he was soon thereafter appointed to Cabinet where he served in the following positions:

President of the Treasury Board & Minister Responsible for Infrastructure (1993-1996)

Minister for International Trade (1996-1997)

Minister of National Defence (1997-2002)

Vice-Chairman of Cabinet Committee on Economic Policy (1997-2002)

On March 24, 2005, Art Eggleton was appointed to the Senate of Canada. He currently serves as Deputy Chair of the Standing Committee on Social Affairs, Science and Technology and is a member of the Standing Committee on Transportation and Communications and the Senate Modernization Committee.

Art Eggleton also serves in various volunteer capacities and is an honorary member, or member, of several non-profit boards and advisory committees.

Patricia McCarney

President & CEO, World Council on City Data - Director, Global Cities Institute, University of Toronto

Patricia McCarney is President and CEO of the World Council on City Data (WCCD) and is a professor of Political Science and the Director of the Global Cities Institute at the University of Toronto, Canada.

Professor Patricia McCarney received her Ph.D. from M.I.T. in 1987. She has served as Associate Vice President, International Research and Development at the University of Toronto.

Before Joining the University of Toronto, between 1983 and 1994, Professor McCarney worked as a professional staff member in a number of international agencies, including the World Bank in Washington, and the United Nations - HABITAT in Nairobi.

Patricia McCarney is currently a member of the ISO Technical Committee 268, Sustainable Development in Communities, where she is Chair of the Working Group on City Indicators. She was integral to the development of the newly published ISO 37120, the first International Standard for Cities. This ISO Working Group is building a family of international standards on global city indicators for sustainable cities, resilient cities and smart cities.

Leading the World Council on City Data, Patricia McCarney is building a globally standardized database for cities worldwide in conformity with ISO 37120, the first ISO Standard for Cities. As host of this new knowledge platform, the WCCD is positioned to be the leading global city database with standardized, verified, comparable and open city data.

Mpho Parks Tau

President, UCLG - The Global Network of Cities, Local and Regional Governments. Former Mayor of Johannesburg

Mr. Tau is the President of the global body, United Cities and Local Governments (UCLG), and the President of the South African Local Government Association (SALGA). He is also the second democratically elected Executive Mayor of Africa's largest economic hub - the City of Johannesburg.

Before Mr. Tau became the Executive Mayor, he had served as the City's Member of Mayoral Committee from the year 2000 - when he began driving a spatial and socio-economic transformation agenda of the City. During this time, Mr. Tau headed the portfolios of Development Planning, Transport & Environment, as well as that of Finance & Economic Development, respectively. This was until he was elected to serve a five-year term as the Executive Mayor in 2011. He is currently also the Chairperson of the Greater Johannesburg Region of the African National Congress.

Mr. Tau, who is a University of London alumni with a Masters in Public Policy and Management, led Johannesburg into strategic partnerships to advance a spatial and socio-economic transformation agenda. As a result, by the end of his term as the Executive Mayor, Johannesburg was a leader in developmental governance and on par with some progressive global cities on sustainability. This has further resulted in Mr. Tau being elected onto various leadership roles in prominent local and international bodies. These include being appointed the Chairperson of the South African Cities Network and the deputy Chairperson of the United Nations Special Advisory Committee on Safer Cities. Furthermore, Mr. Tau is a member of the C40 Climate Change Network Steering Committee and the Co-President of Metropolis - a network of metropolitans established to build resilient and sustainable cities amidst the pressures of urbanisation and climate change.

H.E. Alhaji Abubakar Sani Bello

Governor of Niger State, Nigeria

Alhaji Abubakar Sani Bello, an accomplished entrepreneur, is the fifth Executive Governor of Niger State, since its creation in 1976.

He was born on December 17, 1967 in Kontagora, Niger State. A recipient of Honorary Doctorate Degree in Public Administration from Imo State University, Nigeria, started his early education at the St. Louis Primary School, Kano from 1974 to 1979 form where he proceeded to the famous Nigeria Military School, Zaria, in 1980, earning General Certificate of Education (SSCE/GCE) in 1985. He obtained a Bachelors Degree in Economics from University of Maiduguri in 1991.

Alhaji Bello, a Board member of many companies and organizations, within and outside Nigeria, started his pursuit of excellence in Nigeria’s competitive private sector, in which his family had long established a reputation, with his first post-school opportunities at the shipping department of Offshore Pipelines International (OPI). He gathered an entrepreneurial momentum for diversified ventures in non-Oil sector, establishing a presence in banking and finance, aviation, telecommunication, travel agency and healthcare management services. He served briefly as the Commissioner in-charge of Investments in Niger State, during the tenure of his predecessor.

Based on his experience from the private sector and his short stint as a commissioner, Governor Bello saw the widening gap between the electorate and their representatives in delivering effective governance which prompted him to launch a widely endorsed bid to change the existing order at the time. His Gubernatorial ambition, with its promise of restoring a new order of governance in Niger State earned massive supports and commendations across the different spectrum of the society in the state, especially the youth and women.

Aside from his private life of philanthropy, his humanitarian causes were pursued as a Director on the Board of the SANBELL FOUNDATION, a non-profit NGO, which is a Pet Project of his father, Colonel Sani Bello (Rtd), to give back to the society.

His Excellency, Alhaji Abubakar Sani Bello is married to Dr. Amina Abubakar Bello, a Consultant Gynecologist currently working with the Barau Dikko Specialist Hospital in Kaduna, and they have three children.

His hobbies include travelling, playing lawn tennis and like being in the company of friends and associates.

Mayor Osama Bin Fadl Al-Bar

Holy City of Makkah, Saudi Arabia

MayorOSSAMA had hisBachelors degree in Science from College of Science, KAAU. Major of Physics with 2ndhonorary excellence degree, and Masters degree in Meteorology Physics, College of Meteorology, KAAU

Then a PHD degree in Philosophy Environmental Physics, Nottingham, UK. He was an Assistant professor, Physics department , college of applied science UMAU. In 1991 and a Chairman of environmental research department , Hajj Research Center , UMAU.in 1993 then Deputy director general of Hajj Research Center ,UMAU.in 1994then Director general designate of Hajj Research Center ,UMAU.in 1995 after that he becameDean of institute of the Custodian of the Two Holly Mosques for Hajj researches. Antil 2006and later in 2007 he was chosen to be Mayor of the Holy City of Makkah.

MayorOSSAMA member of many institutes and organizationssuch as Institute of Physics , London , Solar Energy Organization , Saudi Physical Science Organization.

Plus Makkah Beneficence Organization.,Makkah Orphan Guardiance ,Organizat,Establishing Council of The Islamic World for Education .

MayorOSSAMA made some lecture like the achievement and miraculous of the expansion of two Holy Mosques, cultural week in King Fahad Center, Sariavo.Alecture about the actuality of education , national dialogue KSA. And many more around the world.

Mayor Sylvain Juneau

St-Augustin-De-Desmaures, Quebec, Canada

Sylvain Juneau, 47, is a native of Saint-Augustin-de-Desmaures, a civil engineer and a father of four.

After obtaining a college diploma, he completed vocational training as a welder-fitter and specialized in mechanical assembly. He spent ten years working with R&D engineers in industrial manufacturing and gradually developed an interest in the profession of engineer. While expecting the birth of his first child, he embarked on his engineering studies even as he continued to work full time. Juneau obtained a Bachelor of Civil Engineering and a Master’s in pavement engineering. Meanwhile, three more children were born. After graduation, he worked as a civil engineer in the field of university research, essentially as a project manager in cooperation with numerous private partners. In addition to these activities, he acted as an expert in litigation cases and consultant in private mandates related to engineering consultation and expertise. In 2015, he put his engineering career on hold and was elected mayor of Saint-Augustin-de-Desmaures, a task to which he devotes himself on a full time basis.

He completed primary and secondary education in Antakya. In 1984, he won Eskisehir Anatolian University Faculty of Medicine. In 1990, he graduated succesfully from his university as a doctor. Between 1990 – 1995, he worked in various cities. He started specialist training in infectious diseases and clinical microbiology, in Istanbul- Okmeydanı Social Insurance Hospital at 1996. In 2000, he started to work at Baskent University Faculty of Medicine as lecturer in Adana Education and Reserach Hospital.

He provided significant contributions during the establishment phase of the faculty hospital. In 2002, he returned to his hometown of Antakya, in order to share his experiences with Hatay people and in Hatay Mustafa Kemal University he was in a very position to provide to establish the faculty of medicine.

In the same years, he has successfully served as an assistant founder in the Mustafa Kemal University Research Hospital. In 2007 he received his title of associate professor and he was the pioneer in actively training of Medical Faculty in Mustafa Kemal University.

His mission has always been to help the Hatay and people of Hatay. In 2009, in order to join local elections in Hatay, he resigned from his job in Faculty of Medicine, Mustafa Kemal University as candidate of mayor of Antakya Municipality. Assoc Prof. Lutfu Savas, at 29 March 2009 won the local elections and he elected Mayor of the Antakya Municipality. After five years, in 30 March, 2014 he again won the elections and he elected as mayor of the Hatay Metropolitan Municipality. He has been continuing its services since its inception with the aim of bringing the city to the level of contemporary civilizations.

In the city of Hatay, he is carrying out its infrastructure and restoration works with great care. The neighborhood markets and social facilities responding to the social needs of the urban people are important examples in this frame.

Assoc Prof Lutfu Savas has received the "President's Award of the Year" seven times for his services at national and international level in education, arts, culture and sports fields. Assoc Prof is married and has two children and his wife is also a member of the faculty of medicine as well as himself.

Deputy Mayor Jan Brink

City of Zwolle, The Netherlands

Jan Brink (1971) is alderman of the city of Zwolle in the Netherlands.

He is responsible for the city's finance, arts, education and operational organization. He has a 25 year working experience in several communications - , management — and political positions and has always shown a great interest in the appliance of data and communication techniques for the improvement of public services and customer satisfaction.

In Zwolle he is sponsor of the smart use of data, both for public services as for policy development. Zwolle was awarded as 'Smart City Center 2016' for it's vision on the appliance of (big) data in municipal policy and business administration.

Jan Brink graduated from the university of Amsterdam in Administration Sciences in 1998, with a specialization in Politics and Communications.

Councillor Norm Kelly

Toronto, Canada

Councillor Norm Kelly is a trained Historian. He studied history at the University of Western Ontario (undergraduate) and Carleton and Queen’s universities (post-graduate).

Among his most important accomplishments was his two year research for the best-selling books in the field of Canadian History: The National Dream and The Last Spike.

The National Dream won Canada’s most prestigious literary prize, The Governor General’s Award, and was transferred to television by the CBC in a very popular, award-winning documentary series of the same name.

Shortly after completing his research on the CPR in 1973, Mr. Kelly was appointed Chairman of the History Department at Canada’s internationally renowned private college, Upper Canada College (UCC).

During his stay at UCC, Mr. Kelly also served three successive terms in political office as an Alderman on the Municipal Council of the then Borough of Scarborough (1974 – 1980).

In 1980, Mr. Kelly resigned from Upper Canada College when he won a seat as a Liberal in the Federal House of Commons under the leadership of the Right Honourable Pierre Elliot Trudeau.

Of particular note in Mr. Kelly’s parliamentary career was his appointment as a Parliamentary Secretary in which role he guided the legislative process for the F-18 fighter aircraft contract and the updating of the Crown Corporation Act.

In real estate between 1984 and 1994, he returned to public office in 1994 as a Metro Toronto Councillor. After amalgamation in 1997, he has been re-elected as a City Councillor with a city-wide top 4 ranking in every term afterwards.

At the Special Meetings between November 15 and November 18, 2013, City Council chose Norm to be the "de Facto" Mayor for the remainder of the term.

Norm has a twitter account handle of @norm, which is followed internationally by 494,000 people and growing rapidly. With up to 100,000,000 views per month and 471,000,000 views in 2015, Norm has been labelled Canada's King of Twitter and Toronto's #6DAD.

He is married to Charlotte Kelly (Ting Pei Pei) a prominent member of Toronto's large Chinese population.

Nguyen Van Thanh

On December 7, 2015, the Prime Minister of Vietnam signed Decision No. 2188/ QD-TTg to appoint Mr. Nguyen Van Thanh, member of the Central Committee of the Communist Party of Viet Nam, former Deputy Director of the Office of the Central Committee of the Communist Party of Viet Nam as the Vice Minister of Ministry of Public Security.

He holds Bachelor Degrees of Laws and English; Engineer of Economy; Master and Doctor Degrees of Economy. He is now Associate Professor of Economy. He is a member of International Federation on System Research (IFSR) and International Society for System Science (ISSS)"

On 22/03/2016, He was promoted as Senior Lieutenant General by the President of Viet Nam.

22/3/2016 Promoted as Senior lieutenant General by the President of Viet Nam

07/12/2015 - PresentVice Minister of Public Security

01/12/2014 Deputy Director of the Office of the Central Committee of the Communist Party of Viet Nam

01/12/2010 Secretary of the Communist Party Committee of Hai Phong City

12/2009 Deputy Secretary of the Party Committee of Hai Phong City and Secretary of the Party committee of the People's Committee of Hai Phong City, Chairman of the People's Committee of Hai Phong City.

Mayor Maurizio Bevilacqua

City of Vaughan, Ontario, Canada

The Hon. Maurizio Bevilacqua is the Mayor of the City of Vaughan. Prior to becoming Mayor, he was a Member of Parliament for 22 years and served in several roles including Minister of State for Finance, Minister of State for Science, Research and Development, as well as Chairman of the House of Commons Standing Committee on Finance. He is presently the Vice Chair of York Region Rapid Transit Corporation and Member of the Board of Directors and Chair of the Integration Committee for Alectra Inc., the second largest municipally-owned electric utility by customer base in North America. Mayor Bevilacqua also serves on a number of local boards including the Mackenzie Health Foundation Campaign Cabinet, the Advisory Council for the Certificate in Business Administration for the School of Continuing Studies at York University and is a member of the Global City Leaders Advisory Board for the World Council on City Data.

Mayor Bevilacqua holds the record for most votes ever received by a candidate in Canadian political history as well as most votes ever received by a municipal candidate in the history of the City of Vaughan.

A former president of the Council of the York Student Federation, Mayor Bevilacqua is a graduate of York University as well as the Institute of Corporate Directors and Rotman School of Management.

Mayor Ralf Krewinkel

City of Heerlen, The Netherlands

Ralf Krewinkel is the mayor of the Municipality of Heerlen, with 87,000 inhabitants, and the chair of Regio Parkstad Limburg, with 255,000 inhabitants.

Heerlen and Parkstad are located in the southern-most part of the Dutch province of Limburg, in the border region of Belgium and Germany, and have a shared border with the city and district (Städteregion) of Aachen. He is the chair of the AGM of IBA Parkstad, an organization that uses innovative projects to transform the region. Between 2011 and 2015, Ralf Krewinkel was the mayor of the Municipality of Beek. During his term, he saved Maastricht Aachen Airport from closure. Before then – from 2006 – he was an alderman in Kerkrade, previous to which he was the party chairman of the Dutch Labour Party (PvdA) and a municipal councillor in Kerkrade. Between 2004 and 2006, Ralf Krewinkel was a Senior Adviser at the European Job Mobility Portal (EURES).

Jonathan Fink

Professor of Geology and Senior Advisor to the President at Portland State University (PSU), Portland, Oregon, USA

Jonathan Fink is Professor of Geology and Senior Advisor to the President at Portland State University (PSU).

At PSU, he studies natural hazards and urban sustainability with an emphasis on smart cities. He served as VP for Research and as Sustainability Institute Director at both PSU and Arizona State University. He is a board member of the Smithsonian Institution’s National Museum of Natural History, The Nature Conservancy’s Oregon Chapter, the Oregon Museum of Science and Industry, and KB Home.

Saskia Sassen

Robert S. Lynd Professor of Sociology and Co-Chair of the Committee on Global Thought, Columbia University.

Saskia Sassen is the Robert S. Lynd Professor of Sociology and Co-Chair of the Committee on Global Thought, Columbia University.

Her recent books are Territory, Authority, Rights: From Medieval to Global Assemblages (Princeton University Press, 2008), A Sociology of Globalization (W. W. Norton, 2007), and the 4th fully updated edition of Cities in a World Economy (Sage, 2012). Among older books is The Global City (Princeton University Press, 1991/2001). Her books are translated into over 20 languages. Her forthcoming book is Expulsions: Brutality and complexity in the global economy (Harvard University Press, 2014).

Professor Sassen has received diverse awards, from multiple doctor honoris causa to being chosen as one of the Top 100 Global Thinkers by Foreign Policy (2011) and winner of the Principe de Asturias Prize for the Social Sciences (2013). She is also a Senior Fellow of the Global Cities Institute at the University of Toronto, Canada.

Richard Sommer

Dean of the John H. Daniels Faculty of Architecture, Landscape, and Design at the University of Toronto

Richard Sommer is the Dean of the John H. Daniels Faculty of Architecture, Landscape, and Design, and an architect and urbanist with over twenty years’ experience as a practitioner, educator, and theorist.

Sommer’s design practice, research, and writing take the complex physical geography, culture, technology, politics, and historiography of the contemporary city as a starting point for creating a synthetic, cosmopolitan architecture. In addition to his focus on design in the context of broad trends in urbanization, Sommer has been engaged in a long--term, multi--faceted research project examining the transformation of monument making in societies aspiring towards democracy. His diverse professional and academic activity includes serving from 2005 to 2010 as the O’Hare Chair of Design and Development and as a Visiting American Scholar at the University of Ulster, Belfast. Before being appointed Dean at the University of Toronto in 2009, Sommer was the Director of Urban Design Programs and a member of the Design Faculty at Harvard’s Graduate School of Design for a decade. He has held many other distinguished appointments, including serving as Scholar--in--Residence at the California College of the Arts from 1995--98 and as a Visiting Professor at Washington University in St. Louis from 1993-95.

Timo Cantell

Director of Helsinki Urban Facts, Helsinki, Finland

Timo Cantell is director of City of Helsinki Urban Facts.

Urban Facts, established in 1911, is responsible for urban statistics, urban research and records management (archives) related with the interests of City of Helsinki administration, Helsinki’s citizens and the business sector. The office has 90 employees. In the past few years Urban Facts has specialized in open data and its promotion (Helsinki Region Infoshare, (hri.fi).

Mr Cantell has a doctorate degree in sociology (Lancaster University, UK). His research work has dealt with the role of urban culture in urban development and the impact of major urban events. Prior to Urban Facts he worked as professor in arts management at the University of the Arts Helsinki (Sibelius Academy).

Christina Bruce

Senior Manager of Strategic Planning at the City of Vaughan, Ontario, Canada

Christina Bruce is a strategic planning and performance measurement professional with extensive experience working with public and private sectors. She is currently the Senior Manager of Strategic Planning at the City of Vaughan where she manages the corporate performance measurement dashboard used to measure the success of the Strategic Plan and corporate initiatives. She was responsible for leading the City through the recent ISO certification of City Data. She worked closely with the World Council on City Data for Platinum Certification. Prior to joining the City of Vaughan she worked as a consultant, planning, implementing, managing and leading strategic planning projects for First Nation communities, municipalities and organizations across Canada. These strategic planning processes have included designing and implementing strategies with clear and measurable actions supported by key performance indicators and measures. She has gained extensive experience utilizing data and performance measurement dashboards to implement strategy and processes.

He was the Chairman of Wuxi Jinyang Metal Products (China,) and Lanka Special Steels Limited (Sri Lanka) before Tata Steel exited them in 2013 and 2015 respectively. He is also a Board Member of Nat Steel, Singapore and Chairman of Tata Steel’s Global Wires Business. Mr. Bhaskaran is a member on the Global Advisory Board of Social Accountability International (SAI) New York. He is President, Jamshedpur Management Association. He provides leadership to Tata Relief Committee, Tata Steel Rural Development Society (TSRDS), Jamshedpur Eye Hospital, Tribal Cultural Society, Tata Steel Zoological Society (TSZS), and Tata Steel Adventure Foundation (TSAF). A Chemical Engineer (B.Tech) from Indian Institute of Technology, Delhi (1985) and a Management Post Graduate (PGDM) from Indian Institute of Management, Calcutta (1987), Mr. Bhaskaran completed his GMP from Cedep INSEAD, France, in 2000. He has over 29 years of varied experience in the Tata Group.

Shannon Carney

Performance Management Analyst, City of Portland, Oregon, USA

Shannon Carney is the Performance Management Analyst at the City of Portland, Oregon. In her position at the City Budget Office, she works to advance the use of data and evidence to improve the results of Portland’s programs and services for residents. Her office aims to reform bureaucracy from within by bringing more information on outcomes into government decision-making. Over the last few years, Shannon has led several initiatives to build a culture of performance at the City of Portland. She helped launch a Performance Stat program called GATR (Government Accountability, Transparency, and Results), led the City’s participation in the Bloomberg Philanthropies “What Works Cities” initiative, and manages a cross-departmental partnership with Hack Oregon, a local civic engagement organization that is building an open-source, open data portal for the city. Her office publishes the City’s performance dashboards, and has created a process improvement pilot for City employees to learn tools to increase the efficiency of their operations. Shannon holds an Economics degree from Stanford and a Master in Public Administration from the University of Washington, and has a background in business marketing. She enjoys cycling and trail running, trying out new restaurants, and visiting local artists at the Portland Saturday Market.

Ahmed Alkhlaqi

Executive Director, Urban Observatory, Holy City of Makkah

Ahmed Alkalaqi got his Bachelordegree of Engineering Islamic Architecturein 1996-1997h from Umm Al Qura University in Mecca Then a Master inquality fromArabia "excellent" Arab A cademy for Science and Technology and Maritime Transport .then a Masterin Building \ architectural philosophy Department of Architecture Faculty of Fine Arts, Alexandria University - 2013. he is now a PhD student Department of Architecture Faculty of Fine Arts, Alexandria University, He started hisbusiness experience in theholy city of Makkah as aPlanner in City Planning Department in 1997director ofHajj management and seasons department1998 e Assistant general supervisor of the scheme in Mecca in 2000.after that he was the director ofMedia Center in public relations in 2000- Executive Director of the Secretariat of the capital, the holy site on the Internet in 2001.Head of North arenas Center in Mina since the pilgrimage season in 2001 and even 2012.- Director, Center for Professional Studies assistant in 2002.- Head of the Regional Planning Office 2003 e.Management Studies and Director of the General Administration of designs gardens and cosmetics, Information Systems Management 2008 Information Technology Center Director.Coordinator of the major development projects Assistant Secretary for Development and the Office of - Executive Director of the Urban Observatory to Mecca in 2010 and to date.

Dan Caroselli

As director of the Innovation and Performance Management Unit for Los Angeles Mayor Eric Garcetti, Dan oversees the development and maintenance of City-wide performance management systems and processes that help support the Mayor's role as "CEO" of the City's departments. A native and ardent enthusiast of the Los Angeles region and its diverse cultural landscape, Dan brings to his role extensive local knowledge, along with a holistic and strategic approach informed by expertise and experience in marketing, urban planning, and economic development. Dan holds a BA in Art/Semiotics from Brown University and an MA in Urban Planning from UCLA.

Andrew Collinge

Andrew is a member of the Senior Management Team of the GLA. He runs the GLA Intelligence Unit, whose job it is to manage and exploit city data so that it feeds policy and strategy development in the authority. He is Director of “Sharing Cities”, a €25m European Commission Smart Cities and Communities demonstrator programme being run across the cities of London, Lisbon and Milan. Andrew is passionate about how data and supporting technologies can be used to drive public service improvement and city life. He is responsible for the London Datastore, recognised internationally as a winner in the Open Data Institute’s annual awards, and is working with Nesta to trial a data science approach to public service modernisation. Andrew holds a number of external posts. He is a board member of Funding London, he is also an Honorary Fellow at University College London, a member of the external advisory board of the University of Warwick’s Institute of Science in Cities, and he sits on the Global City Leaders Advisory Board for the World Council on City Data.

Robert Doré

Robert Doré is Chief administrative officer of the City of Saint-Augustin-de-Desmaures.

Mr. Robert Doré has worked in the public and private sector for thirty-five years. With a master's degree in administration, Mr. Doré also began a doctorate in administration. Having received several awards at the provincial, national and international levels, its management mode is focused on pooling resources, managing matrix performance and innovation.

Gary Dyke

City Manager, Cambridge, Ontario, Canada

Gary Dyke, the City Manager for the City of Cambridge, Ontario is responsible to City Council for the overall management of the civic administration and business affairs of the Corporation.

Born and raised in North Bay, Ontario, Gary is a graduate of the University of Waterloo and Queen’s University (Kingston, Ont.). He has over 25 years of combined experience in the private development industry, with the Province of Ontario and within municipal government. Gary has served in a series of progressive roles, the past 10 years as Chief Administrative Officer/City Manager.

He is currently President of the Ontario Municipal Administrators' Association and is a member of the International City/County Management Association.

Gary is a strong believer in innovation and technology in building municipal sustainability through responsible and accountable decision making based on strong data and by respecting the people, place and prosperity of the community.

He is committed to building his community as well demonstrated through his 15 years association with Rotary International and his past service on the Board of Directors for the Hastings and Prince Edward Learning Foundation, as well the Board of Governors for Loyalist College.

Robert Elbrink

Head of Strategy, Eindhoven, The Netherlands

Robert Elbrink is currently working is as head of the Strategy-department of the municipality of Eindhoven.

He is amongst others responsible for the (open) data-program in the municipal organization as part of the smart society program. In the past 15 years working for the municipality Robert has fulfilled several positions. He started as a policy advisor on Information Technology and has been actively engaged in public-private co-operations on the deployment of fiber optic broadband networks and broadband services. After that he was policy advisor in the field of urban regeneration and community development. Robert has studied computer science at the Eindhoven University of Technology. After working almost 10 years in the private sector he returned in 1999 to Eindhoven to work for the city administration.

Michelle Fitzgerald

Chief Digital Officer and Manager Smart City Office, City of Melbourne, Australia

Michelle Fitzgerald is Chief Digital Officer and Manager Smart City Office, City of Melbourne

In November 2015, Michelle joined the City of Melbourne as Chief Digital Officer (the first position of its kind for Victorian Local Government) managing the newly-formed Smart City Office. In this position she will assist the City of Melbourne to attract start-up investment; drive the take up of digital, agile development and open data across customer services; lead the shift in infrastructure management towards smart city modelling; and collaborate with Melbourne’s research and higher education sectors to build the city’s education capabilities and reputation as a knowledge hub.

She is also a current Non-Executive director for Standards Australia, and was recently awarded as one of the Knowledge Nation 100 leaders in Australia.

Dr. Abdul Husaini

General Manager of Niger State Geographic Information Systems, Minna, Nigeria

Dr. Abdul Husaini, a Town Planner and Geospatial Analyst, is the General Manager of Niger State Geographic Information Systems (NIGIS).

He is also a Visiting Lecturer in the Department of Urban and Regional Planning, Federal University of Technology, Minna. Before his appointment as the GM of NIGIS, he was the Zonal Town Planning Officer, Suleja, Niger State. Apart from membership of Nigerian Institute of Town Planners (NITP) and Town Planners Registration Council (TOPREC), he is also a registered member of Geo-information Society of Nigeria (GEOSON), Nigerian Environmental Society (NES) and African Association of Remote Sensing of the Environment (AARSE). Dr. Husaini is the Coordinator of Regional Center of Expertise (RCE) on Education for Sustainable Development, Minna and a member of the Board of the World Council on City Data (WCCD). He was elected the President of African RCEs in August, 2016, during the 6th African RCEs Continental meeting and conference in Nairobi, Kenya.

Dr. Husaini’s research interest includes growth dynamics of fringe areas of cities of Developing Countries, applications of Earth Observation (E.O.) technologies in determination of drivers of Land Use Change and Ecosystem services valuation.

Alvaro Lima

Director of Research = Boston Planning and Development Agency, Boston, USA

Alvaro Lima is the Director of Research for Boston Planning and Development Agency (BPDA).

He recently served as Senior Vice President, Director of Research of the Initiative for Competitive Inner City (ICIC), a non-profit organization founded by Harvard Professor Michael Porter. An economist by training, he is the former chief of the Economic Department of the Ministry of Industry and Energy in Mozambique and coordinator of Regional Development Projects at the Institute for Social and Economic Research—IPARDES, in his home country Brazil.

Tinashe Mushayanyama

Director of Strategic Information and Research, Johannesburg, South Africa

Director of Strategic Information and Research, Johannesburg, South Africa Tinashe is a trained Economist working for the City of Johannesburg as a Director: Strategic Information & Research.

He is responsible for storing and analyzing strategic information such as surveys, research and data sets as well as documenting information to ensure organizational awareness and to inform the overall strategic plan of the City. Currently studying for a PhD with University of Pretoria, he graduated with a Master’s Degree in Economics (first class). Tinashe has received numerous academic accolades in the field of economics and statistics. He has so far gained strong qualitative and quantitative research skills that include development of tools & techniques; application & manipulation of data management programmes e.g. SPSS, E-Views etc. Tinashe is a proficient international public speaker and is currently an Advisor to the World Council of City Data (WCCD) based in Canada - where he led the City of Johannesburg to its first ISO International Standard on City Indicators. He is also a Vice Chair: Demographic Research Division – UNISA Bureau of Market Research and also serves as National Committee Member for SABS Standard ISO 268 on Sustainable Development in Communities. Prior to joining the City, Tinashe worked for University Johannesburg as a Senior Researcher - advancing SMMEs growth in townships, a Project Manager at University of Cape Town – promoting Community Philanthropy and Grantmaking and a Researcher at University of Natal - facilitating Smallholder Farmer’s Production Scales and Food Security.

Kathryn Oldham

Head of Civil Contingencies & Resilience, Greater Manchester, UK

Kathryn is Head of Civil Contingencies & Resilience for Greater Manchester’s 10 local authorities. In 2011 she led the transformation of the way in which disaster risk reduction is delivered across Greater Manchester through the design and creation of a shared service for Greater Manchester’s 10 local authorities. Kathryn has responsibility for leading this specialist unit, providing expert civil contingencies services to local government including in the areas of health protection, disaster risk reduction, emergency management and recovery. The unit offers a year round emergency response service, ensuring Greater Manchester’s local authorities always have access to disaster management expertise. Kathryn led Greater Manchester’s participation in the United Nation’s (UNISDR) Making Cities Resilient Campaign in which the UN has recognised the city region as one of only 45 role model cities worldwide. She also led Greater Manchester’s successful bid to join the Rockefeller Foundation’s 100 Resilient Cities network earlier this year. Kathryn is an expert advisor on emergency planning for the Local Government Association and is a member of SOLACE’s civil contingencies and community safety group. Kathryn has varied and extensive experience in the public sector. Previously she has managed a wide range of local government services including being Assistant Director with responsibilities for Manchester’s historic civic buildings, heading up facilities management services for the Town Hall complex, leading finance and service improvement teams for Manchester Council and managing diverse services across Manchester’s public housing stock. Kathryn holds a medical degree, qualifying with the University of Manchester, and has received national awards for business continuity planning together with her role in planning for the Olympic Games in 2012.

Ricardo Gutierrez Padilla

Director of the Metropolitan Institute for Planning of the Metropolitan Area of Guadalajara, Mexico

As General Director of the Metropolitan Institute for Planning of the Metropolitan Area of Guadalajara (IMEPLAN), he is responsible for integrating 9 local (municipalities) and state government data, strategies and policies, aimed to foster a whole and functional integration of local governments in the second largest city in Mexico.

The metropolitan agenda under his guidance is pursuing and achieving the model design, political approval, and implementation of the new city governance for the 25 years to come.

The Metropolitan Information System (SIGmetro) is one of the most promising developments for the city, because on it will take place the convergence and interoperability of the presently isolated data systems of the nine municipalities within the metropolitan area.

Following IMEPLAN proposals, the metropolitan coordination system has recently created and launched the Security Agency for the city, which is now responsible for determining prevention public policies aimed to build integrated communities and a safer city.

Additional agencies are under construction: mobility and public transportation, air quality, water services, waste management, and public spaces.

Ricardo has a long career in the academic sector, holding several positions, such as Provost and Executive Vice President of the Universidad de Guadalajara, and the Public sector. He has also participated in Jalisco state and national public policy design for more than two decades.

Miguel Sangalang

Executive Officer for Budget & Innovation, City of Los Angeles, USA

Miguel Sangalang serves as the Executive Officer for Budget & Innovation for #LAMayor Eric Garcetti and coordinates general functions of the city: budget, performance management, sustainability, technology, data, and innovation.

Along with the Deputy Mayor, Miguel manages a portfolio of five city departments with over 3000 personnel. Prior to this role, he served as Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa’s Director of Performance Management. In September 2014, Miguel was appointed the inaugural Moneyball Fellow for LA, a national initiative led by Results for America to expand the use of data and evidence in government. Born in Philippines and raised Southern California, he graduated UCLA with a degree in Japanese and public policy and was active on the Men’s Sabre Team.

Atty. Violetta Seva

Advocate, UNISDR Making Cities Resilient Cities Campaign

Atty. Violeta Somera-Seva is a lawyer and urban management practitioner with over 35 years of experience in metropolitan and local governance. She was recently appointed as an Advocate for the UNISDR Making Cities Resilient Campaign in recognition of her extensive engagement in promoting resilience with local authorities and communities. She is currently a Senior Advisor of the City Government of Makati, Philippines and General Secretary of the Earthquakes and Megacities Initiative (EMIla nonprofit scientific organization that advances urban resilience through science and innovation. As a Disaster Risk Reduction and Management Legal and Institutional Specialist, she was involved in disaster risk reduction masterplanning in the cities of Mumbai, India, Dhaka, Bangladesh, Metro Manila, Makati Quezon City, Pasig in the Philippines, Amman, Jordan and Kathmandu, Nepal. She is former General Manager of the Metropolitan Manila Development Authority, Philippines.

Frederic Sicre

Managing Director at Abraaj

Frederic Sicre has over 25 years of experience in engaging the private sector on global issues, regional development agendas and community building. He is Managing Director at Abraaj and leads global stakeholder engagement working with leaders from governments, private sector, international organizations and NGOs. Mr. Sicre is currently focused on healthcare delivery systems for low and middle income populations in Africa and South Asia.

Prior to joining the Group, Mr. Sicre spent 16 years as Managing Director and Member of the Executive Board at the World Economic Forum where he first established the Forum’s activities in Africa and the Middle East. Mr. Sicre was made responsible for the Center for Regional Strategies, with a particular focus on global growth markets and the Annual Meeting in Davos. He also acted as the Editor of South Africa at Ten, a book celebrating the first ten years of democracy in the country.

Mr. Sicre is the Chairman of the Mustaqbali Foundation and serves on the board of Dubai Cares, Education for Employment and Junior Achievement’s MENA Board. He is also a member of the Advisory Board of the Commonwealth Enterprise and Investment Council and a member of the World Presidents’ Organization. Mr. Sicre was a member of the United Nations Global Compact Business For Peace Steering Committee from 2013 to 2015.

Mr. Sicre holds an MBA from IMD, a Bachelor of Arts and Sciences from Villanova University, Philadelphia and is a fellow of Stanford University.

Almis Udrys

Director of Performance and Analytics, City of San Diego, USA

Almis Udrys was appointed by San Diego Mayor Kevin L. Faulconer to build a Performance & Analytics Department.

The department's role is to turn the buzzwords of efficiency, accountability, and transparency into a reality. In its inaugural two years, Almis and his team have initiated a variety of programs like the San Diego Works employee idea and incentive project, open data, strategic planning, and, most recently, a 311-style Customer Experience & Service Delivery program. With 15 years of public service at the City of San Diego and the State of California, Almis believes that government can work. Other highlights of Almis’ career include serving as a key negotiator over a $125 billion California state budget, delivering an economic development incentive agreement with Illumina that protects hundreds of jobs in San Diego, advancing water supply reliability initiatives like desalination and potable re-use to reduce San Diego’s dependence on imported water, and engineering a roadmap for rebuilding San Diego’s infrastructure particularly in underserved communities. Almis has presented domestically and internationally on innovative government initiatives including a TEDx talk “Can Streetlights Save Democracy”. Almis has a Master’s Degree in Public Policy from Pepperdine University and a B.A. in International Business from Hillsdale College.

Paolo Cervini

Senior Vice President Philips Lighting and President Philips Lighting Middle East & Turkey

Paolo Cervini, Senior Vice President Philips Lighting, is the President of Philips Lighting Middle East and Turkey.

After graduating from Politecnico di Milano, a 150 years old leading university, with a degree in Business Economics Engineering and an MBA at SDA Bocconi University.

He started his career in the lighting field through the lighting components industry and in 2000, Paolo joined Philips Lighting in Italy where he handled several key positions in marketing and commercial organization leading both distribution and project business.

In 2009, Paolo moved to Dubai-United Arab Emirateswhere he was appointed as Projects Channel Director for Middle East region, initiating a breakthrough strategy covering the whole region with establishment of business in many different countries like Qatar and Levant region (Lebanon, Jordan, Syria and Iraq).

Since 2011, Paolo leads the Middle East and Turkey region for Philips Lighting, covering 16 countries with the establishment of the Joint Venture in Kingdom of Saudi Arabia, Philips Lighting Saudi Arabia, between Global Lighting Company and Philips Lighting.

Since 2012, Paolo is also the President of Middle East Lighting Association - MELA.

Paolo was born in Milano, Italy and is married and blessed with 2 boys.

Hazem Galal

Local Government Sector Global Leader, PWC

Hazem Galal is PwC’s Cities and Local Government Sector Global Leader.

Andrey is a lifelong technology executive with deep expertise in delivering innovations in both governmental and commercial sectors. Since 2011, Andrey has served as Deputy CIO of Moscow, after he was engaged by Government of Russia to lead Electronic Government initiative in 2010.

In his current position, Andrey is responsible for implementing informational systems in all spheres of urban life with special focus on Smart City projects.

Robert Hardt

President & CEO, Siemens Canada

Robert Hardt is the President and CEO of Siemens Canada and is responsible for the overall strategic management, direction and leadership for all activities in Canada.

Mr. Hardt is a proven and dedicated leader with a successful history at Siemens. Prior to being appointed President and CEO in January 2012, he held several senior management positions within Siemens Canada since 2007. Mr. Hardt is an electrical engineer and began his career with Siemens AG Germany in 1988. Prior coming to Canada, Mr. Hardt was responsible for the global Mining business and later for the global Air Cargo Logistics business, at Siemens’ German headquarters.

Mr. Hardt is a seasoned engineering expert and regular contributor on the manufacturing and technology dialogue in national media and through speaking engagements. He is passionate about fostering the engineering profession and skills education in Canada by building strong collaboration networks between industry and educational institutions.

Mr. Hardt is Chair of the Canadian German Chamber of Industry and Commerce. He is also an active member of the Business Council of Canada, The Learning Partnership, International Chief Executives in Canada (Conference Board of Canada) and is on the Advisory Council, Manufacturing, for the Canadian Manufactures & Exporters (CME).

Robert Hermans

Director of the Department of Statistics on Labour, Income and Living Conditions at Statistics Netherlands and Director of Statistics Netherlands Urban Data Centres.

Robert Hermans(1963) is Director of the Department of Statistics on Labour, Income and Living Conditions at Statistics Netherlands and Director of Statistics Netherlands Urban Data Centres.

He is also a member of the CBS-team that works on SDG’s. He has a 26 year working experience in policy-, research- and management positions in cities, provinces, private companies and research institutes in The Netherlands, Latin America and Asia. From 2007 to 2012 he was a member of the Scientific and Technical Committee of CIDES, the International Centre for Sustainable Development in Panamá. Recently he joined the Advisory Board of the World Council on City Data in Toronto, Canada.

Robert Hermans graduated from University of Amsterdam in Urban & Rural Geography and Communication Sciences. He has worked at Statistics Netherlands since 2013.

Carla Koffel

Executive Director, Pearl Initiative

Carla Koffel is Executive Director of Pearl Initiative. In this role, she leads Pearl Initiative’s operations in the Gulf Region. She is responsible for progressing the organisation’s aim of maximizing the potential of Gulf businesses through the championing of good governance.

Carla’s role is to drive the competitive advantage of effective corporate stewardship for business in the Gulf, including transparency, diversity, anti-corruption and ethical practices as well as to develop the region’s future leaders.

Carla Koffel brings to her role more than 18 years of experience in the corporate and non-profit sectors. Starting her career as a lawyer in Australia, she has since spanned the UK, Asia and Middle East with a number of senior posts, including the role of Assistant General Counsel and Executive Board Member of a leading Multinational Corporation in London. Prior to joining the Pearl Initiative, Carla has worked in the Gulf Region leading diverse institutional reform programmes in the legal system.

Carla Koffel completed an Advanced Management Executive Education Programme at Columbia Business School, NYC. She holds a Master’s degree in International and Community Development from Deakin University, Australia and a Bachelor of Laws (Honours) from University of Technology, Sydney.

Birgit Kredel

Corporate Vice President, Head of Corporate Development Siemens One

With 22-years of experience in business development, key account management, project and program management Birgit has a strong record of driving growth in large, global businesses in the Oil& Gas, Power Utilities, Information Technology and Telecommunications Industries for Siemens. Creating the best customer value propositions by bundling the global portfolio and power of Siemens is her key focus. Having worked in Europe, Asia and Americas she is a truly global player, being highly effective in leading cross-functional and cross-cultural teams. "Getting things done" - is her credo with proven capabilities to structure complex tasks and develop business opportunities, thorough in strategic program design and ensuring a fast and sustainable implementation.

Nishendra Moodley

Cities Support Programme - Intergovernmental Relations National Treasury, South Africa

Nishendra is a governance expert with a strong commitment to democracy, decentralisation and sustainable development, through an improved public service working in transparent partnership with civil society and business.

Nishendra works for the National Treasury of South Africa in its City Support Programme (CSP) where he takes responsibility for the City Governance component, intended to strengthen governance capabilities across SA’s 8 largest cities and the corresponding enabling national policy environment. He also co-ordinates the CSP’s relationship with the City of Cape Town. His role includes, amongst others, that of reforming the sub-national reporting systems for city data, monitoring the performance of cities and opening up national data to be meaningfully used by citizens and civil society in exercising accountability.

Nishendra has worked in local government, for the City of Cape Town (1998-2000), before playing a national and city advisory role during the consolidation of our democratic local government system (2000-2015). The focus of this work has been on the design of intergovernmental institutional arrangements, evidence-based policy development and strengthening of accountability and learning, through results-based monitoring and evaluation systems and practices.

Xiaomei Tan

Senior Climate Change Specialist at the GEF

Xiaomei Tan is a Senior Climate Change Specialist at the GEF. She manages GEF's Sustainable Cities Integrated Approach Pilot, which will invest $1.5 billion over five years, initially engaging 23 cities in 11 developing countries (Brazil, China, Cote d'Ivoire, India, Malaysia, Mexico, Paraguya, Peru, Senegal, South Africa, and Viet Nam). Further, she also manages urban and transport portfolio in the Asian region. Prior to joining the GEF in November 2013, Xiaomei had a long career in think tank, consulting firm and government agencies. Her last role at the World Resources Institute was the Director of China Sustainable & Livable Cities Initiative and Deputy China Country Director. Under her leadership, WRI helped the Chinese coastal city of Qingdao develop a comprehensive low-carbon development blueprint, which includes more efficient energy use, clean water supply, transport systems that reduce congestion, and sustainable urban design. The blueprint lays a foundation for Qingdao to meet its target of reducing carbon intensity by 45% by 2020 and therefore won the title of a National Low-carbon Pilot City. During her career, Xiaomei has published widely in mainstream and professional journals such as Energy Economics, Energy Policy, and Ecological Economy. Xiaomei holds a Ph.D. in Public Policy, MA in Economics and BA in Political Science.

Tjark Tjin-A-Tsoi

Director General, Statistics Netherlands

Tjark Tjin-A-Tsoi is the Director General of Statistics Netherlands (CBS). In April 2014 he started a transformation process leading to substantial innovations such as the CBS Centre for Big Data Statistics, the CBS Communications and News Division and the CBS Urban Data Centres creating ‘’data intelligent municipalities’’ throughout the Netherlands.

From 2007 to 2014 he was the Chief Executive Officer of the Netherlands Forensic Institute (NFI). Before joining the NFI, Dr Tjin-A-Tsoi was Director of competition at the Dutch Competition Authority and held positions at Ernst & Young Corporate Finance BV,Rabobank International and Shell Technology Centre Amsterdam.

He is currently also on the Supervisory Board of the National Initiative Brain and Cognition, the Social Advisory Board of the Netherlands Institute of Forensic Psychiatry and Psychology, and the Advisory Board of the Complexity Programme of the Netherlands Organisation for Scientific Research.

Tjark Tjin-A-Tsoi gained a PhD in Theoretical Physics from the University of Amsterdam and subsequently held a postdoctoral fellowship at the University of Munich.

Harry Verhaar

Head of Global Public & Government Affairs, Philips Lighting

Harry Verhaar is Head of Global Public & Government Affairs for Philips Lighting.

Harry Verhaar has over 20 years of experience in the lighting industry, and is Head of Global Public & Government Affairs for Philips Lighting. He is responsible for the strategy, outreach and stakeholder management on energy & climate change, resource efficiency and sustainable development, with a key focus on the role of the LED lighting revolution.

He has since the end of 2003 been the architect of the lighting strategy on energy and climate change, which has resulted in a global momentum on phasing out of old lighting technologies.

He is an active member of a number of partnership and stakeholder networks, among which The Climate Group; Regions20 and the World Green Building Council and is a member of the Advisory Boards of The Lisbon Council and the Global Cities Institute (and their World Council on City Data). He is responsible for Philips’ relationship management with the UN and the World Bank and is a founding member of UNEP’s en.lighten program and the SE4All’s Global Energy Efficiency Accelerator Platform. He is chairman of the European Alliance to Save Energy and is president of the Global Off-Grid Lighting Association.

Harry is a recipient of the 2011 UN Leader of Change Award, and has received the Carbon War Room’s Gigaton award on behalf of Philips at COP17 in Durban. In May 2015 he received the Energy Efficiency Visionary Award from the Alliance to Save Energy in Washington DC. He holds a MSc in Solid State Luminescence from the University of Utrecht, The Netherlands.

Alessandro Attolico

Executive Director of Territorial Planning and Development, Environment and Civil Protection Office at the Province of Potenza Local Authority, Italy

In his position, he is responsible for orienting political decision-making processes, drawing and implementing plans, programs, projects, actions on territorial and environmental policies at local level and in regional, national and international contexts. He holds extensive expertise and experience in territorial SustDev, DRM/DRR and Climate and a multi-years engagement in decision making and policy-orienting processes.

Among the several activities and achievements, Alessandro coordinated the construction of the first Provincial CivProt System for the Province of Potenza (2004) and the drawing of the Provincial Master Plan (TCP, 2013) outlining governmental proposals for broad SDGs implementation over the provincial territory. Both have been acknowledged as models in national and international contexts and are producing tangible effects in terms of strategic positive policy-making. As an effect, the Province of Potenza is currently playing as a UN-ISDR World Role Model for “Inclusive Resilience and Territorial Safety” (2015), Community Champion “Knowledge for Life” - IDDR2015 (2015), EU Covenant of Mayors for Climate and Energy Coordinator (2016) addressing and coordinating its 100 Cities and Municipalities.

Alessandro is engaged as HFA, SFDRR and UNISDR “Making Cities Resilient” Campaign Local Focal Point. In 2014, he has been appointed as a UN-ISDR Advocate.

He is author of many articles and position papers. He participated to several national/international conferences as panelist and his achievements were also acknowledged by awards assignments.

Alessandro holds a degree in Civil Engineering, an international post-graduate degree in European Construction Engineering and a PhD in Earthquake Engineering.

Dr. Aisha Bin Bishr

Director General, Smart Dubai Office

Dr. Aisha Bin Bishr is the Director General of the Smart Dubai Office, the government entity charged with overseeing Dubai’s citywide smart transformation, engaging with leadership in the public and private sector to make Dubai a global benchmark smart city.

Prior to that, Dr. Aisha worked as Assistant Director General of the Executive Office of His Highness Sheikh Mohammed Bin Rashid Al Maktoum, Prime Minister and Vice President of the United Arab Emirates and Ruler of Dubai. The Executive Office role is to implement the vision of HH (to make Dubai #1 globally) as well as to be the source of the best futuristic initiatives. Part of her role was leading the Smart Dubai task force team from the time of the announcement of the Smart Dubai initiative in March 2014, to the formation of the Smart Dubai Office.

Dr. Aisha also worked in the Ministry of Labor as an Assistant Undersecretary for support services responsible for developing and implementing strategic management, partnership development and change management policies. With more than 20 years of experience in information, communication and technology (ICT) development in public and government sectors, she possesses analytical, coordination, communication and advocacy skills relating to ICT, public reform trends and strategies.

Dr. Aisha Bin Bishr holds a PHD in Management, Science, Technology and Innovation and Master of Philosophy (MPhil) in Policy and Research on Engineering, Science and Technology from Manchester Business School. A Bachelor of Science (BS) in Applied Science (Business Information Technology) from Higher Colleges of Technology , and a degree in Public Finance Management from Dubai School of Government as well as a graduate of Orchestrating Winning Performance Diploma from IMD

Dr. Aisha Bin Bishr is a graduate of a two-years young leaders program organized by Sheikh Mohammed Bin Rashed Centre for Leadership Development (MBRCLD). She is also enrolled in the Mindful leadership program run by the Prime Minster Office in UAE.

Dr. Aisha Bin Bishr has received many awards; the latest is Leading Woman in Public Sector 2015 from the Global WIL Economic Forum, another as the Middle East Woman Leader in Corporate Management Excellence (2012) by Middle East Women leaders Excellence Awards. She received Community Service Medal 2013 by Lt. General HH Sheikh Saif bin Zayed Al Nahyan, Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Interiors as recognition of the national constructive role played by her. She received an award recognizing her role in enabling the smart city vision of His Highness Mohammed Bin Rashid, from the Swedish Embassy, Trade & Invest Council and Ericsson.

Dr. Aisha Bin Bishr represents the Smart Dubai Initiative in many communities and conferences such as City Protocol Society, smart Cities Expo as well as at the GSMA.

Aisha Abdulla Miran

Aisha Miran has over 12 years of experience within the public sector, with specific focus in setting the strategic agenda for the Executive Council and its Sector Committees and assisting in decision making.

Aisha has expertise within the realm of strategy management, as well as knowledge within a multitude of disciplines including performance management, policy making and governance within the public sector. She was responsible for the setup of a world- class strategy execution system across the Government of Dubai, which assists in managing the execution of Dubai Strategic Plan 2015 and realizing the Emirate’s Vision. This system has been internationally recognized as a best practice in the Hall of Fame Award. Moreover, currently she is leading Dubai Government team in updating the Emirate’s strategic plan for 2021.

Within her current role in strategy management and governance, Aisha has been working on building the organizational capabilities and governance systems within the Government of Dubai, in order to ensure strategic priorities of the Government are addressed and Dubai Strategic Plan is effectively executed.

Prior to that, Aisha started her professional career with The Executive Office, a private office of HH Sheikh Mohammed Bin Rashid Al Maktoum. She worked on multiple projects such as the establishment of Dubai Institute for Human Resource Development and Dubai Government performance management system.

Aisha obtained her EMBA from the American University of Sharjah, has an Executive Diploma in Public Administration from the National University of Singapore, is certified in Balanced Scorecard Practice and is a graduate of Mohammed Bin Rashid Program for Leadership Development. She has showcased Dubai Government in many international conferences and co-authored multiple cases on Dubai Government experience in performance and strategy management.

Abhilash Panda

Abhilash Panda is a programme management specialist and coordinator for UNISDR’s global programmes on Urban Risk Reduction and Resilience. He is responsible for establishing partnerships, managing and monitoring projects, identifying areas of innovation and providing hands on support to implementing partners.

Formerly, he was the programme manager for UNISDR covering South East Asia and Pacific Island countries.

He has previously worked for United Nations Development Programme supporting post disaster recovery and rehabilitation.

Abhilash has led development of global reporting and monitoring frameworks for measuring progress for climate and disaster resilience growth both at national and local level.

With Masters in business and bachelors in electronics engineering, Abhilash has an in depth understanding of programme management including design and delivery of projects.

Akram Khraisat

Akram Khraisat is Director of Amman Urban Observatory/Greater Amman Municipality and team leader of rehabilitation since 2010. Mr. Khraisat has contributed to spreading the culture of urban indicators through training courses, seminars and workshops for staff, by introducing and computing urban indicators and measurement methodologies, and by advocating the benefits of using indicators in planning for the Greater Amman Municipality. He has held several workshops on collecting and analyzing data and producing the final reports on urban and institutional indicators.

Mr. Khraisat was the recipient of an honor degree from Amman Municipality for “knowledge transfer”. He has many certificates in planning and risk management, and holds a Bachelor’s degree in industrial engineering from the University of Jordan.

In addition to his work in the Greater Amman Municipality, Akram Khraisat is a team leader of establishing local observatories in the cities of Jerash and Madaba in Jordan.

Facundo Marzano Gallo

Advisor, Undersecretariat of Planning, City of Buenos Aires

Facundo Marzano Gallo is an architect and has a postgraduate degree in Urban Project at the University of Buenos Aires. He is currently an advisor at the Undersecretariat of Planning of the Government of the Autonomous City of Buenos Aires.He teacher at the Faculty of Architecture, Urbanism and Design at the University of Buenos Aires.

He has also published his works; “Costas y Cuencas de la región metropolitana de Buenos Aires¨. Selected work, Development of urban intervention in the area of José León Suarez, San Martin City, Province of Buenos Aires .¨

In addition, he has won first prize in the Workshop Internazionale AbitaZone 5° Edizione. MUMOVE, arte, architettura, strategie progettuali, culturali, per la citta di Reggio Calabria with the University of Reggio Calabria and the University ofBuenos Aires.

Frans Schurer

Senior Advisor, Bureau of Policy Research and Statistics, City of Heerlen, The Netherlands

Frans F.R.M. Schurer (1965) is Senior Advisor of the Bureau of Policy Research and Statistics of the City of Heerlen (O&S Heerlen), The Netherlands. Since 1990 he works as a policy researcher and consultant. O&S Heerlen is providing the municipality of Heerlen with relevant basic statistics and is advisor and supervisor where monitoring and research within the municipality of Heerlen are concerned. O&S Heerlen is producing information to support the policy design and evaluation, for example in the fields liveability, population, economy and labour, social work, customer satisfaction and employee satisfaction. O&S Heerlen cooperates with other municipalities in the region.

Frans F.R.M. Schurer graduated from RWTH Aachen University, Germany, in Sociology, Political Sciences and Geography. He has worked at the Bureau of Policy Research and Statistics of the City of Heerlen since 2001.

Joe Pennachetti

Executive Advisor, Global Cities Strategy, World Council on City Data

Joe Pennachetti is Executive Advisor, Global Cities Strategy, World Council on City Data and Former CFO & City Manager, City of Toronto – Global Cities Insitute Senior Fellow.

Joe Pennachetti served for thirteen years as Chief Financial Officer and City Manager at the City of Toronto, Canada’s largest city and sixth largest government.

Working through several administrations, he is widely credited with ensuring that Toronto’s service levels and cost efficiencies were enhanced through a progressive performance management program. Mr. Pennachetti has also been one of the driving forces behind the creation of ISO 37120, the first international standard for sustainable cities.

Nico Tillie

Landscape Architect & European Union Liaison, City of Rotterdam, The Netherlands

Nico Tillie is an assistant professor in Landscape Architecture at Delft University of Technology (TU Delft), where he teaches landscape technology and sustainable development. Nico lectures around the world, and is completing a doctorate (PhD) in livable low carbon cities, focused on integrating sustainable development and energy planning into the overall planning process.

In the City of Rotterdam, he works on citywide projects as a leading advisor on energy, green, water and resilient city strategies. He worked on Rotterdam's Museumpark and the International Architecture Biennale Rotterdam (IABR) projects, "People make the inner city" (2012) and "Urban by nature, urban metabolism" (2014).

Nico is the Dutch representative in the German Marshall Fund of the United States in Washington, DC. Currently he is coordinating several European Union projects on sustainable development, energy transitions and ecosystem services. Nico is initiator of the GIS resilience profile which helps to accelerate transition into more resilient cities. Within these fields, he is responsible for the sustainability strategy for the southern part of Randstad Holland Metropolis.

Om Mathur

Senior Fellow at the Institute of Social Sciences, New Delhi and Senior Fellow, Global Cities Institute, University of Toronto

Om Prakash Mathur is Senior Fellow at the Institute of Social Sciences, New Delhi. He was previously Director and Distinguished Professor of Urban Economics, National Institute of Urban Affairs, New Delhi, and held the IDFC Chair in Urban Economics at the National Institute of Public Finance and Policy; Director, Multi-level Planning Unit, the Planning Commission; UNDP Team Leader, Decentralization Project, Government of Iran; and Senior Economic Planner, United Nations Centre for Regional Development, Nagoya, Japan. He was a member of the former Prime Minister’s National Review Committee on Jawaharlal Nehru National Urban Renewal Mission; High Powered Expert Committee on Urban Infrastructure Investment Requirement, and Advisory Group of Experts on Decentralization (AGRED) of the UN-HABITAT. Currently, he is a member of the GIZ-ADB sponsored City Development Initiative for Asia (CIDA).

James Patava

Director of Public Affairs and International Relations, World Council on City Data

James Patava is an international communications practitioner with over 10 years of experience with stakeholders in Europe, Africa, Asia and the Americas. With a primary focus on the not-for-profit sector, he has had experience in the public and private sectors, and has worked extensively with both local and national governments as well as with international agencies. He has also worked with grassroots organizations, civil society groups and has participated in several international electoral observation missions. James was educated at McGill University (BA Hons.) in Montreal, Canada and currently resides in Toronto.

Helen Ng

Executive Vice President, World Council on City Data

Helen Ng is the Executive Vice President of the World Council on City Data (WCCD) with over 10 years of experience working with local governments and international stakeholders. Helen has made important contributions to the development of the new international standard ISO 37120 for performance management through her work with the ISO Technical Committee on Sustainable Development (TC268). She is also involved in the development of two new international standards, one on indicators for smart cities ISO 37122 and another on indicators for resilient cities ISO 37123. She holds a Master’s degree in International Development and Political Science from the University of Guelph, Canada and a Honours Bachelor’s degree in Public Policy from the University of Toronto, Canada.

Matthew Lynch

Vice President Global Partnerships & Initiatives, World Council on City Data

Matthew Lynch is Vice President – Global Partnerships & Initiatives at the World Council on City Data (WCCD) in Toronto. The WCCD hosts a network of innovative cities committed to improving services and quality of life with open city data and provides a consistent and comprehensive platform for standardized urban metrics. Comparable city data is critical for building more sustainable, resilient, smart, prosperous and inclusive cities.

Matthew has over twenty years’ experience in sustainability and international development, working in the private sector, NGOs and international organizations. Prior to joining the WCCD, Matthew was the Director of the Sustainable Cities Program at the World Business Council for Sustainable Development in Geneva.

Matthew has a Masters Degree in Environmental Technology majoring in Environmental Economics and Policy from Imperial College, London, a Postgraduate Certificate in Sustainable Business from the University of Cambridge Programme for Sustainability Leadership, and a First Class Honours Degree in Environmental Engineering.